February 25, 2008...7:27 pm
Fountain of Youth Aftermath: Is Cool Coal Man Really This Good?
That is the question in the aftermath of the mild upset in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes on February 24th at Gulfstream Park. The favored and very highly regarded MONBA finished dead last some 39 3/4 lengths back. The very impressive one start wonder with the high ratings, KENTUCKY BEAR, finished 7th. Top 10 Kentucky Derby contender (as seen by many experts) ANAK NAKAL finished 8th. And second choice COURT VISION ran an unimpressive 3rd after passing tired rivals. The owner of the FoY winner COOL COAL MAN is the same as the champion WAR PASS, Robert LaPenta who has Nick Zito training both. Speaking of WAR PASS, it must be said that he looked fantastic in his 3yo debut albeit versus allowance foes. It was actually the race immediately following the Fountain of Youth. He was razor sharp under rider Cornelio Velasquez who sat motionless throughout. Did MONBA get injured during the race? Did ANAK NAKAL simply need this race? Did KENTUCKY BEAR ‘bounce’? Did COURT VISION run his best or did he need the race as well? So with all of that being said, is COOL COAL MAN really this good? Only the upcoming several weeks will tell.
Coming up next: The Sham Stakes at Santa Anita going 1 1/8 miles featuring COLONEL JOHN and EL GATO MALO and the John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway going 1 1/16 miles. Both on March 1. And the following week, March 8, is The Gotham Stakes (1 mile) featuring GIANT MOON at Aqueduct and the Louisiana Derby featuring PYRO, BLACKBERRY ROAD and Z FORTUNE going 1 1/16 miles down at The Fair Grounds.
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